Following up on a debut win was always going to be a tough challenge for Ecurie Ecosse, but today (23 April, 2017) they rose to the challenge at Donington Park for the second round of the Henderson LMP3 Cup Championship and after starting sixth, Alasdair McCaig and Colin Noble carved their way to the front of the field to take a famous second victory with the Neilson Racing run #79 Ligier entry.

“For us on our introduction to LMP3, this was a magical start,” said Director and Driver Alasdair McCaig. “Two wins and Colin got the fastest lap this afternoon, so it really couldn’t have worked out better. Colin did a great job hunting down the two United Autosport cars, so all credit to Colin for that win as he did a fantastic job.

“We have a fantastic new partnership with Neilson Racing, who did a great job for us all weekend, and this it’s great to kick off the campaign for our sponsors Edinburgh Gin, John Clark Motor Group, Alex F Noble & Son with the double win; it couldn’t have been a better start to the year.”

Once again McCaig took qualifying duties and despite improving his best time recorded yesterday, had to settle for sixth position on the grid. Both he and teammate Colin Noble remained upbeat despite the third row start.

The opening stint of the race saw McCaig gain two positions to run in fourth position. As the race continued, he was able maintain position and then close down the gap to the third-placed car ahead. Very much aware that the pit stop can be pivotal to the race result, McCaig closed the gap to less than a second before handing over to Noble.

“I ran fourth for most of my stint and we had a couple of safety cars which closed up the field,” said McCaig. “This reset the race and allowed me to hound Richard Dean (in third position) all of the way and we managed to get him in the pitstops.”

As was the case in Saturday’s first race of the championship, Noble again put in fastest lap after fastest lap to close down and then made perfect clean passes on the two United Autosport cars for the lead.

“Alasdair did a great job and gained positions, so that definitely made the job easier for me,” said Noble. “Then I had the two United cars to chase down and our pace was great, much stronger than there pace, so we managed to pull half a second a lap.

“I didn’t have to over-drive the car, it was quite nice and easy to drive…. I got the passes completed on the back straight each time, just getting a good exit from Coppice and then dragging them down the straight and into the chicane. Now I look forward to Monza – a different teammate – but the same car and hopefully we’ll be as quick there too.”

Ecurie Ecosse will next be in action at Monza for the opening round of the Le Mans Cup, 11-13 May, while the next round of the LMP3 Cup takes place at Brands Hatch 20-21 May. For the team, the emphasis is building on the almost perfect start at Donington Park.

“We need to carry this momentum on to Brands Hatch and also to Monza where it will be the debut round for Colin and Tony Wells in the Le Mans Cup,” said McCaig. “So, we’re looking at that as well in terms of Ecurie Ecosse point of view and our programme for the season as a whole. Tony and Colin will be an awesome line-up….”